Following the announcement by the Department of Education that all schools will share a grant of €1,700 + €34 per pupil, I’ve been asking primary school teachers and principals how they are going to spend their money. Well, to be honest, several primary school principals are asking me about how to spend their grant.
These principals are not tech-savvy people and many of them have little interest in ICT although they say they understand the benfits. Every single principal that I have met want to buy interactive whiteboards. The NCTE’s clear advice is not to do this. Rather they would prefer all classrooms to be kitted out with a laptop and projector.
Since 100% of principals and teachers that I have spoken with are planning on buying IWBs instead of the NCTE’s plan, I can assume a very large percentage of schools across the country will be doing the same. Since the grant will not be enough to kit out every classroom with an IWB, there are going to be schools half kitted out with boards and half kitted out with nothing.
I’m not sure that this is a positive thing but it does show that principals believe in the importance of IWBs in schools despite the NCTE’s best intentions to slowly incorporate them. Schools want them now and I think the NCTE should just give in and start listening.
Hi Simon, I just wanted to leave a comment on the purchase of digital projectors.
I see one of the main disadvantages of schools buying digital projects independent of IWB’s is that in the future if the school decides to buy an IWB to be mounted with the purchased projectors, it’s important to factor in how the projectors are mounted so that the projected image will fit the IWB screen. We have come across this before in which the projector position was not aligned properly for the IWB. In this case, the projector would have to be repositioned correctly leading to increased installation expense.
I would also advise schools that if they are thinking of buying projectors with the intention of buying an IWB at a later stage, to purchase short throw projectors as this can reduce shadow on the IWB and glare for the teacher.
Thanks, Denis
Just to let you know that Lennox Laboratory Supplies who supply the touch sensitive TRACEBoard IWB will be offering a free advice service for teachers who want to buy digital projectors with the intention of buying IWB at a later stage. All details can be found on http://www.traceboard.ie
thanks,
Denis
I was reading on the NCTE website today about vendor lists for laptops & desktops. Are these just guidelines, or will schools have to use this system for their grant?
Also I noticed that no frameworks exist interactive whiteboards, educational software, or digital projectors.
Just wrote about it now – hope it answers your questions, S
Liosdoire Computers supply and install projectors in such a position that if a school buys an interactive whiteboard later the image on the will is 77″ Diagonal and then there is no problem buying a 77” SMART board. It will just take about ten minutes to put Smart board on the wall
@Stephen – you can’t deny you’re quick off the mark with innovation! Well done!
Can you supply me with the contact details for the company that provide the Promethean Activinspire iwb in Ireland. Thanks.
Interactive whiteboards versus laptop and projector. Its a no brainer. As a content developer I believe a whiteboards interactivity is key in an all classroom scenario. Couple this with software and content being developed for this platform and you have an out right winner.
Do you think it matters whether you use the grant buying the laptop and projector – I mean, is it likely to get caught out? I don’t see the point in buying projectors, when IWB’s are surely the way forward? Or is there something I’m missing?
IWB back to ‘chalk and talk’, at the board with pen instead of chalk??
Save €1000 or more.
A decent 2.4ghz or bluetooth mouse gives almost all of the functionality if an IWB, from any-where in the class. Teacher can wander around while instructing, pupils can pass mouse around and join in the lessons. All xp machines and some others have a virtual keyboard (start – run – osk) good for occasional typing and free. A wireless keyboard will be better for a lot of typing. Standard wireless is short range and will not work across a class.
Most short-throw projectors have telescopic mounts which can adjust to suit adding an IWB, or clip an ebeam to your existing board.
A white, cream or light grey blackout blind is a cheap screen for a better display, and rolls up for your own board.
Not sure I agree completely with you. Chalk and talk is only when the boards are used badly. The IWB seems to have motivating abilities that a wireless tablet simply doesn’t. Younger children also don’t have the spatial awareness to understand the slate, in my opinion.
The graphics tablet does take some getting used to, but a good laptop (smaller size for smaller hands), ambidextrous wireless mouse seems to be comfortable with young children, all your favourite old software is fully accessible, no need to reach, just move the mouse.
A projector is common to everything, but if the teacher is making good use of IT the interactive part can always be clipped on. A full IWB is a very expensive toy, except for the few teachers who will make full use of it.
A review of IWB in the UK indicated under-use of IWB. A variety of reasons, including lack of training, but still poor use for the cost.
The interactive mouse gives most of the functionality of a full IWB but is often €1000 cheaper. I feel this would be a good start and the upgrade is an easy option when funds and skills develop.
When I clicked a link to another post I got an error so I took the liberty of pasting the post.
Ceist Anseo: Are IWBs All That?
Posted by Simon on 01 August 2009
Tags: ceist, interactive whiteboard, iwb
Just over 8 months ago, I published a post asking the above question, Are Interactive Whiteboards all that? I mentioned that I encountered Interactive Whiteboards for the first time in 2002 and gave a little bit of history surrounding them. I also published some informal findings on how teachers were using them and coming to the conclusion that most of them would have been better off with just a projector or worse, nothing at all.
For me, an IWB doesn’t really have too much to offer versus a traditional whiteboard. I list below, all the things that you can do on a board.
1. Drag and drop
2. Point and Click
3. Make marks with digital ink
4. Store Information
Now obviously, it’s what you do with the board that matters. And with only 4 functions, you can do almost anything. The trouble is that, as I said before, teachers aren’t doing it. From my study, most teachers are only using the projector.
I did a little bit of further investigation, informally, with trainee teachers who were using the boards during teaching practice. Despite getting certification in IWB usage, 100% of them used the IWB to display PowerPoint presentations. Most of them also said that they type up stuff in a Word Processor to show the class, e.g. the daily news. A few mentioned that they showed videos and played Karaoke too.
Although there’s nothing wrong with any of the above, one does not need a €2,500 piece of equipment to do them. All of these activities only require a projector and computer.
However, what other things can one use an IWB for that a projector on its own wouldn’t achieve? I want to throw this question out to you. I’ll give my own ideas in another post, but I’d love to hear from you first.
Hi Damien, there you go – I said it myself! However, I think if teachers were trained properly in their use then they would be worth the investment. I don’t think it’s fair for the NCTE to discourage buying the boards in favour of slates, etc. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial for the NCTE to develop courses to help teachers use IWBs better? Since writing the above article, I got some interesting feedback (mainly from companies). For example, video conferencing requires a big screen but also now includes interactivity such as sharing virtual whiteboards. Another example is the many companies who are professionally designing resources for IWBs to encourage good practice in their use. You’re definitely right that most teachers aren’t using them properly but another point of interest is that if they weren’t using IWBs, would they use ANY technology at all? I feel the IWB is the trojan horse which is slowly but surely getting technology back on the agenda in primary schools and for that alone, I welcome them, whether they’re used badly or well.
I have been involved with tech. support for many years, and have been in many schools. My objection to IWB is the excessive cost for a resource which will too often be under used. I have seen too many pc’s unused and covered in dust, or underused. Some teachers will use everything they can get their hands on, others do not use what they have. Limited resources need to be targeted for both max. benefit and max. use.
The IWB is an easy add-on when funds are there, the wireless mouse does almost everything except standing at the board tapping an IR pen.
There will be an ‘IP’ (interactive projector)this year, like the diy WIImote. Sensors built into the projector.
A commercial development of the diy model!
Any surface is now an interactive board/wall etc.
Interesting to see pricing.
Funny you should mention those projectors, I have a review of the Epson one in the next few days coming up on Anseo. Pricing seems to be around the €1,800 to €2,000 mark, roughly the same price as an equivalent IWB set up.
We can hope that competition will soon drop the price of either one or both. I know a lot of rooms where a multi-purpose board is an advantage, lots of windows and not enough wall.
Hi Simon,
I was just wondering about this ict grant for 2010. Our school is a small 3 teacher school. Last year we installed 2 IWB with the ict grant. It looks like we could be down to a two teacher school next year. I don’t see the point in installing another IWB in a classroom that might not be in use next year. Can you tell me a little bit more about digital projectors and how do they compare to the IWB.
A digital projector is part of an IWB package. The IWB is just the physical board. The projector is a separate piece of equipment and its job is to project whatever is on a computer screen onto a large surface. I would say a projector without an IWB can do about 80% of everything that you can do with a full IWB package.
My personal feeling is that with your wireless mouse and keyboard you have an interactive system, any pupil can make full use of anything on the display from anywhere in the class, not just standing at a board. If you want a board system something like the ‘e-beam’ can be added at any time, without any alteration to the projector. There are more interactive projectors coming on the market, and no doubt with some competition the price will drop. With these any surface projected on becomes ‘interactive’.
Almost agree with you Damien but there’s nothing alternative out there that allows the user to interact with the screen using their finger. While this may not be an issue with older children, kinesthetic learning is huge for very young children and children with SEN. A wireless keyboard and mouse will not replace this. Furthermore with the advent of touch screens and tablets, finger interaction has never been more important.